This event is aimed at initiating a wide-ranging debate on new routes for the effective and efficient dissemination of the ever-increasing volume of crystallographic raw and results data, as a complementary approach to the conventional route of publication of scientific journal articles. The workshop is concerned with:

a) raising awareness of innovative procedures under development for data dissemination and the new opportunities they can provide for publication,

b) enabling groups working in the area to compare approaches and develop a unified strategy for data management, including publication and preservation and

c) inviting participation in this topic from interested parties.

The methods and approaches to publishing scientific research output (i.e. making it available to the public
domain) are currently undergoing a seed-change. New initiatives include such processes as author self deposition
of reprints in Institutional Repositories, author-pays open access journals and open discussion of
results in Wiki’s or Blogs, and these are gathering momentum. On one hand this movement has been slow to
appear in some disciplines (eg Chemistry), yet is widely accepted and routine in others (eg Physics and
Biology). The field of crystallography is a data-rich subject that supports a vast number of conventional
journal articles across a very broad range of disciplines, and seeds of change are very much evident here.
Recent developments include:

2. IUCr were awarded three rounds of funding to enable the content of their journals provided by UK
authors to be made publicly available through Open Access (JISC funded) and examine the culture
changes and impact on their business model.

The indications are therefore that the time is now right to explore these new routes to publishing, with a
particular emphasis on the crystallographic raw and results data, as an alternative to conventional journal
articles. This is especially relevant in the light of a recognised data deluge (F.H. Allen, Crystallogr. Reviews,
2004, 10, 3-15), where it is commonly recognised that approximately only 20% of small-molecule crystal
structures determined as a result of publicly funded research reach the public domain. This is a direct
consequence of the way in which data is traditionally published.

The principal contributions to this workshop would be from those responsible for recent developments and
innovations in the area and are outlined below. The primary aims of the workshop will be to:

1. Raise awareness in the crystallographic community of these new innovations and the opportunities
they offer for data publication, and invite participation.

2. Enable projects and interested parties working in the area to compare approaches and develop a
unified way forward for the future of data publication.